Deadpan

[Stu]

I never cease to be astonished how gullible people when you make a joke with a deadpan expression. A couple of days ago, my wife and I went to collect our grandson from infant school - he is age 5. While there, one of the teaching assistants mentioned that, if I could make it on the Friday afternoon of the week coming, his class were putting on a "play for Christmas".

"Ah, OK" I said, and then asked, "King Lear?"

I was taken aback when the assistant paused studiously for a moment and replied...

"Ooooh, good question. Just a moment. I'll go and find out for you" My wife, seeing the joke immediately, passed me a very dark look.

The assistant came back a couple of minutes later to tell me that it was the Christmas Nativity and my GS would be playing one of the Wise Men.

I was quite disappointed. I was looking forward to seeing my five-year-old grandson playing the Earl of Gloucester in Shakespeare's classic. Fortunately, my wife saw the funny side of it and I didn't get the tongue-lashing I had been expecting for my little wheeze.

[Sinned]

Stu, brilliant and I couldn't help but giggle as I saw the jest straight away. I guess that is an advantage of age, depth of education and wit showing a sharp mind. I love it.

[Kirbstone]

Brilliant, Stu. To me, 'The Tempest' would have sprung to mind straight away........

Tom

[denimini]

Only to be countered by a deadpan reply:
"No, it will be Taming of the Shrew this year."

I have found that most or all posts here are deadpan by nature of the text only interaction, hence I sometimes include an emoticon; a practice I normally do not indulge in but may save some unintentional confusion or offence.

[ScotL]

Do you think the assistant knew what King Lear was? I live the dead pan joke, brilliantly played. But I’m also dumbfounded at what the younger generation doesn’t know. Not their fault, just different times.

[Stu]

Do you think the assistant knew what King Lear was? I live the dead pan joke, brilliantly played. But I’m also dumbfounded at what the younger generation doesn’t know. Not their fault, just different times.

That did occur to me. I think it is shocking if any British adult doesn't know that King Lear is a play by Shakespeare.

[Myopic Bookworm]

Old King Lear was a merry old soul,
and a merry old soul was he,
he called for his sword
and he called for his crown
and he called for his daughters three....

Or maybe I am confusing him with Good King Wenceslas.

[Sinned]

STU, i consider that we were brought up in the Golden Age of Comedy ( at least I consider I was ). The earliest I remember was The Army Game followed by Tony Hancock. My sense of humour broadened and sharpened by greats such as Arthur Askey, Laurel and Hardy, the Marx Brothers and many, many, many more. Education and a wide interest fills in gaps. There are a zillion things I don't know. Maybe we here just have enquiring minds.

[ScotL]

Do you think the assistant knew what King Lear was? I live the dead pan joke, brilliantly played. But I’m also dumbfounded at what the younger generation doesn’t know. Not their fault, just different times.

That did occur to me. I think it is shocking if any British adult doesn't know that King Lear is a play by Shakespeare.

I have a feeling you will be shocked then.

[pelmut]

STU, i consider that we were brought up in the Golden Age of Comedy ( at least I consider I was ). The earliest I remember was The Army Game followed by Tony Hancock. My sense of humour broadened and sharpened by greats such as Arthur Askey, Laurel and Hardy, the Marx Brothers and many, many, many more. Education and a wide interest fills in gaps. There are a zillion things I don't know. Maybe we here just have enquiring minds.

If you collect old records, you can go back at least one generation earlier than that.  Norman Long, The Crazy Gang, George Burns & Gracie Allen, Harry Weldon, Flotsam & Jetsam, Suzette Tarri, Elsie & Doris Waters, Ronald Frankau, Billy Bennett, Rob Wilton, Tommy Handley, John Tilley, Will Hay, Harry Tate etc. etc.  There were hundreds of them appearing in theatres and music halls night after night and leaving the audiences in stitches.  By comparison, most modern 'comedies' are just feeble ghosts of what went before.

[denimini]

Or maybe I am confusing him with Good King Wenceslas.

I think so.

[Kirbstone]

Old King Cole was a merry old soul....

It was King Cole, whoever he was.

Tom

[Stu]

STU, i consider that we were brought up in the Golden Age of Comedy ( at least I consider I was ). The earliest I remember was The Army Game followed by Tony Hancock. My sense of humour broadened and sharpened by greats such as Arthur Askey, Laurel and Hardy, the Marx Brothers and many, many, many more. Education and a wide interest fills in gaps. There are a zillion things I don't know. Maybe we here just have enquiring minds.

Ah! Some of the greats - the Marx Brothers, Hancock etc - brilliant! More recently we used to enjoy sitcoms like Blackadder, Fawlty Towers, Father Ted, Yes Minister (and from the US classics like Police Squad, Soap and M.A.S.H). Then we had great sketch shows like The Two Ronnies and The Dave Allen Show. What do we have now that's funny? Certainly nothing in the UK.

It was King Cole, whoever he was.

I believe he was a British Bronze Age king, going back to around 1,500BC.

That is from a very old nursery rhyme.

[Myopic Bookworm]

Old King Cole was a merry old soul....

It was King Cole, whoever he was.

Yeah, I know. Is there a Christmas play about him, though? And did he quarrel with his third fiddler?

[Sinned]

Stu, some of the best satire around the time of TW3 [0] were 2 radio series - Round the Horne and Beyond Our Ken. You catch Kenneth Williams and Hugh Paddick and others at their very best. Rambling Syd Rumpo and Julian and Sandy. Absolutely brilliant.

pelmut, I remember some of them and others not. Growing up I watched some of the old comedies [1] with Old Mother Riley, remember her? Jimmy Edwards with Whack-O?

[0] Mid to late 1960's.
[1] Mostly in black and white.